It was billed as darts great grudge match and it was a thriller, but Phil Taylor eventually got the better of Paul Nicholson in a terrific European Championship quarter-final.
He will now take on Simon Whitlock in the semi-finals!
And we will also see a big Unicorn semi-final between Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis in Dusseldorf.
Taylor was pushed all the way by Nicholson and had to come up with some amazing finishes to clinch victory!
“It was a great match,” said Taylor. “Paul played really well, but he brought the best out of me. The match was played in the right spirit and we shook hands on it at the end.”
After the verbal volleying between the pair over the last two weeks, it was eagerly anticipated and they didn’t let us down…..the match saw lots of respect and there was a lot of tension.
Nicholson was obviously disappointed. “I had a great start and couldn’t quite kick on, but I am tougher than a lot of people realise and I will be back!”
‘The Asset’ was 3-0 up in no time, including a 107 finish but there was a massive turning point in the fourth leg….Nicholson left himself on 28 for 4-0….Taylor missed ‘tops’ and d10 but with the last dart in his hand, he hit d5 and it was a big moment in the match.
Taylor went on a surge, reeling off five straight legs to take control, or so we thought! Back came the Geordie, as he nailed a 100 check-out and won four of the next five legs to move 7-6 ahead.
That is when ‘The Power’ turned up the voltage….a stunning 177, followed by a brilliant 129 finish as he started a run of four straight legs to seal the deal, and he won it in sensational style with a 138 check-out!
Taylor averaged 102 to Nicholson’s 98 but the Unicorn pair certainly didn’t let us down.
Well, Barney was in terrific form yet again as he stopped James Wade’s charge towards what would have been a third consecutive ‘Major’ TV Final.
Looking relaxed, controlled and confident, the Dutchman won a titanic tussle against James Wade.
After Wade took out 121 on the bull to level the match at 3-3, Barneveld went on a run of three consecutive legs and hit a 177 and a third 180 in the 8th leg.
Wade responded with a 107 finish and ‘The Machine’ also hit four 180s in four legs….a 13 darter brought it back to 6-8, although the Dutchman then took out 104 to move 9-6 ahead.
Wade stayed in it and the pressure was really on as he missed two darts to win 10-7 and Wade broke the throw! But in the next, he showed tremendous character. Wade missed ‘tops’ for a 99 finish which would have forced a deciding leg and Barney hit the same target to win!
Lewis was forced to produce his very best to see off brave Belgian Kim Huybrechts.
He raced into a 5-0 lead in just 12 minutes, before Huybrechts launched a terrific comeback to take the World Champion all the way to the finishing line.
There was certainly no clues about the dramas to come as Lewis hit three 180s and a 177 in establishing that 5-0 advantage…..the Belgian was clearly suffering from big stage nerves, but he gave it a real go.
Lewis had to produce two 13 darters to stay ahead and even at 7-3, he wasn’t safe…..Huybrechts took out 126 on the bull and put more pressure on by nailing a 122 finish!
All of a sudden it was 9-8 and there was more drama in the 18th leg. Lewis hit his 8th 180 but missed two darts at ‘tops’ for the match, only for Huybrechts to blow two darts at D12 to force a decider.
The tension was there for all to see, as Lewis stepped back to the oche, but he missed two darts at D10, before hitting D5 with the last dart in his hand to fall over the finishing line.
He averaged 100 again but was certainly pushed all the way. “I switched off again and I cannot afford to do that. It nearly cost me, but I will be ready for semi-finals,” Lewis said.
In the other quarter-final Simon Whitlock averaged 100, hit seven 180s and nailed finishes of 108, 124 and 121 in beating Peter Wright 10-6
Quarter-Final results:
Adrian Lewis 10-8 Kim Huybrechts
James Wade 8-10 Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor 10-7 Paul Nicholson
Simon Whitlock 10-6 Peter Wright
Semi-Finals (best of 21 legs):
Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock
Followed by the PartyPoker.net European Championship Final (best of 21 legs)
By STUART PYKE in Dusseldorf
Photos courtesy Chris Sargeant